More proactive role of BMDA stressed to boost agri output

Speakers at a meeting stressed the need for more proactive role of the Barind Multipurpose Development Authorities to boost agricultural production for sustainable socio-economic development in the country’s northwest region.
Besides, the region needs more other need-based programs to face the adverse impact of the climate change caused by the global warming, they told the 66th board of directors meeting of BMDA in Rajshahi on Sunday.
The state minister for youth and sports, Ahad Ali Sarker, addressed the meeting as the chief guest with the BMDA chairman, Nurul Islam Thandu, in the chair.
The minister said the present government is committed to expedite the BMDA activities by bringing its entire development projects under accountable and transparency.
He said the government has already approved three projects like fine rice production and marketing, deep tube well installation in all upazilas of Pabna, Sirajganj, Bogra, Gaibandha, Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts and expansion and development of the irrigated areas with an estimated cost of Tk 302.93 crore for enhancing crop production in the region.
Sixteen lawmakers – Omar Faruque Chowdhury, Fazley Hossain Badsha and Engineer Enamul Haque of Rajshahi, Sadhan Chandra Mazumder and Ishrafil Alam of Naogaon, Ziaur Rahman of Chapainawabgonj, Abu Talha of Natore, Mokbul Hossain, Shamsur Rahman Sharif and Golam Faruque Khandaker Prince of Pabna and Women MPs- Prof Zinatun Nessa Talukder, Shawkat Ara, Shaheen Monwara Haque and Shefali Haque were, among others, present at the meeting as member of the board.
Taking part in the discussion, most of them underscored the need for operation of the BMDA activities with more sincerity, honesty and effectively so that people of the area could derive of its total benefit.
They said the BMDA has a vital role to boost agricultural output through providing quality irrigation to the agricultural fields, by which, the region could contribute a lot to make the nation self-reliance in food production.
Earlier, BMDA executive director Engineer Abdul Mannan gave an overview of all the ongoing activities of the organisation and its achievements.
The meeting was told that BMDA has been implementing different need-based projects to improve the socio-economic conditions by increasing crop production side by side protecting the environment across the country’s northwest region.
Abdul Mannan said implementation of some good projects during the last two decades came out with desired crop production along with safe-drinking water, afforestation and concrete roads in the dried barind tract.
The BMDA already executed eight big projects by spending Tk 756.21 crores under its command areas in 25 upazilas of Rajshahi, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj districts from 1985-86 to 2003-04.
Now, 12 other projects are being implemented in the region at an estimated cost of about Tk 1,344.98 crores since 2004-05 and the programs are expected to be finished in phases by 2013 and 11 other projects are on the pipeline.
The ongoing projects of BMDA include Barind rainwater conservation and irrigation, deep tube wells (DTWs) installation, irrigated area development and training, revitalisation of the inoperative deep tube wells for irrigation purposes, afforestation programme for ecological balance, quality seed production on farmers level and drinking water supply from the irrigation deep tube wells.
He said execution of the projects had yielded a significant success in crop production including quality seed, creation of ecological balance, road communication and development of socio-economic condition leading to raising the standard of life and living of the targeted people.

Courtesy of BSS via NewAge